The crowd kept growing, fifty, seventy, eventually a hundred people welcomed Vatrene in front of the Aka Hotel. They had to replace the main entrance with a side entrance for the back because that’s what the security said. The Croatian national team entered its American home about twenty-five minutes before 6 p.m., or before midnight Croatian time. They were followed by shouts, called to report, some answered them, others did not. Luka Modrić is the biggest star, his name was shouted, to which he waved and went to the hotel. The coach came out among the first, followed by Ivan Perišić with sunglasses and Joško Guardiol.
Video: Dražen Antolić/Boris Kovačev
Unlike some earlier World Cups, the bus did not have any Croatian markings. Everything went smoothly, except that the journey from the airport to the location took longer. They were followed by security and there was no rush, it took them an hour and forty minutes.
Most of the fans are American Croats, each with their own story. Some were born here, others arrived later. They were hoping for a few selfies or autographs, but there were none, so many were disappointed. They did not part for a long time. The insurance regime did not give them. Young people also gathered, but even more old people. We are not sure if there were more children or pensioners. The Croatian community is very active, on Saturday there was a festival of Croatian music in Alexandria by the Potomac River with two thousand people, and right after the Vatreni entered the hotel, those who had tickets rushed to the center of Washington, where a spectacular tambura concert was organized at the Kennedy Center with the main star Jerry Grčević, which was attended by 450 guests.
On Wednesday, however, training will be open for the local community. Tickets are required, the embassy distributed fifty of them, the rest were distributed by the city of Alexandria. Names like Modrić may also tickle Americans who do not have a Croatian heart, as Mrs. Kim told us. They also tried to paint one bus in the city in “cubes”. We saw one, maybe there are more.
There were also Asians among the Croats, but also others like an Ecuadorian who brought his sons to see Modrić. They wore the Real jerseys of Mbappé and Vinicius.
– We Croats are such that we always arouse emotions – said the mentioned Kim, born in America, but she will say herself – Dalmatian.
While we were waiting for Vatrene, we received information that the first victim had fallen. The food manager of Hotel Aka, who is Turkish, was fired. It was given to him by his bosses because, we’re told, he broke the rules by giving away classified information. Hotel Aka has a contract with Fifa and HNS according to which hotel employees have no right to provide any information. The aforementioned revealed that HNS requested that two Croatian wines be poured during the Vatreni’s stay. One plavac is small, and he could not remember the name of the other. Although it is probably not crucial information for anyone, the man lost his job. He gave the interview anonymously, but he was easily discovered, among other things, because he admitted that he had been to Croatia several times. Lest anyone think otherwise, it is not a matter of large quantities, wine is the least consumed by the players, and the coach is known not to drink.
We believe that everything will be fine with the Vatreni diet. There is also HNS chef Tomica Đukić who prepares what the players like, and this time the emphasis is on seafood specialties. Heat and light food go together.
